The UFC on FUEL TV4 event will feature a welterweight bout between Aaron Simpson and Kenny Robertson. Simpson was originally scheduled to face off against top contender Jon Fitch, but Fitch withdrew from the bout due to an injury with Robertson filling the void. The will be Aaron Simpson’s welterweight debut after previously competing in the middleweight division. Let’s see how this one breaks down.

Kenny Robertson (11-1) is coming off a KO win over UFC veteran Lucio Linhares in October. It was a nice rebound win for Robertson after he suffered his only defeat in his UFC debut against Mike Pierce at UFC 126. Robertson has three wins via TKO/KO and four wins via technical submission, only going to a judges decision once in his career as he’s stopped several fighters via submission via punches. Robertson had issues with the wrestling based Pierce taking him down in his loss which could be an issue for him against Simpson.

Aaron Simpson (11-3) is coming off a split decision loss to Ronny Markes in February which ended a three fight winning streak. Simpson has six wins via TKO/KO and one submission win to his credit. Simpson brings a solid wrestling game and good knockout power in his strikes to the table. However, he has had conditioning problems in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see if the dropping to the welterweight division will impact that negatively or positively.

Simpson has the edge standing and in the wrestling department. The only advantage Robertson has is that Simpson is almost a decade older and could be slower down in regards to his explosiveness and cardio issues. As I mentioned earlier, Robertson had issues with the wrestling of Pierce and I don’t see why that would be any different with the wrestling credentials Simpson brings to the table. It is possible that Simpson could have cardio issues again provided the fight goes into the later rounds. The one time Simpson was finished, he gassed badly against Chris Leben and was finished by “The Crippler” via TKO.

I look for Simpson to throw bombs standing to set up his takedowns. He should be able to take Robertson down if he chooses to do so. In that position he can look to impose his will via ground and pound and possibly finish Robertson via TKO. If Robertson can make it to the later rounds, it may be possible for him to take advantage of a fading Simpson to grab his fight UFC win. However, I expect Simpson to be successful in his welterweight debut.